Getting cash from BAM Nuttall 'may be difficult'

A finance expert has raised fears about the safety of taxpayers’ cash in the guided busway project.

Brian Ing, a former chairman of the International Council of Management Consulting Institutes, took a senior councillor to task over the controversial scheme at a meeting.

Cambridgeshire County Council initially set aside £116 million for the guideway but the final bill is expected to hit £161 million, and the authority will have to try to claw back around £50 million from contractor BAM Nuttall.

The council has already conceded taxpayers will have to cough up around £4 million themselves and Mr Ing asked Cllr Roy Pegram, Cambridgeshire County Council’s infrastructure chief, whether he was sure the body was “fully protected” against further costs.

Cllr Pegram replied: “Our advisers are confident there should be little or no difficulty in retrieving money owed to the county council by BAM Nuttall.”

In a written statement which accompanied the response, Cllr Pegram said there was “no realistic possibility” of forcing the contractor to hold the sums paid by the council into a fund from which they could not be withdrawn.

Such a “freezing order” requires a claimant to provide evidence which indicates a company is likely to dissipate or conceal assets.

The statement said: “The county’s officials administering the contract are not aware of any such facts and the courts have stated that unsupported statements or expressions of fear have little weight.”

The statement revealed the council has a performance bond – a guarantee of BAM Nuttall’s obligations – but this is limited to £7.5 million.

The authority also has an unlimited guarantee from the contractor’s Dutch parent company, Koninklijke BAM Groep NV, which is subject to English law.

Mr Ing, of Woodcock Close, Impington – who said as an accountant he managed Government schemes valued at more than £2 billion – wished the busway “every success”.

But he said he was concerned it could be hard to pursue a European company through the courts.